Modern Languages @ St Hilda's, Oxford in 2021

Interview format

Modern Languages Admissions Test (MLAT), 2x interviews

Interview content

Analysis of poetry, Discussion of personal statement, Speaking in studied foreign language

Best preparation

Went over personal statement

Test preparation

Completed past papers and grammar exercises

Final thoughts

Don't neglect your A-levels as these are the final stage to getting accepted

Remember this advice isn't official. There is no guarantee it will reflect your experience because university applications can change between years. Check the official Cambridge and Oxford websites for more accurate information on this year's application format and the required tests.

Also, someone else's experience may not reflect your own. Most interviews are more like conversations than tests and like, any conversation, they are quite interactive.

Interview Format

Test taken: Modern Languages Admissions Test (MLAT)
Number of interviews: 2
Time between interviews: 3 hours
Length of interviews: 30 minutes
Online interview: Yes

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

We started by looking at a poem and reading through it, with the chance to ask about any unknown vocabulary. there was no specific theme to either interview - your answers can take the interviewers down any tangent, simply because they are interested in what you have to say!

There was then personal statement discussion about texts I had read possibly about characters or themes.

In the final section, I had to speak in the language I was applying for in a very short conversation.

How did you prepare for your interviews?

I made sure I knew my personal statement so well that I was prepared for most questions that could come up. I read all the books I had mentioned. I watched videos on the Oxford YouTube channel to reassure myself that everyone was in the same boat.

Finally, I organised as many mock interviews as possible in order to have questions posed to me by a teacher. But if this is not possible, read answers to some possible interview questions out loud to yourself!

If you took a test, how did you prepare?

Past papers on the website, grammar exercises, reading articles /watching videos to learn as much vocabulary as possible

What advice would you give to future applicants?

Prepare as much as you can but don't overthink it too much, you never know what you will be asked but push your enthusiasm for the subject as this is most essential.

And, by preparing, don't neglect your A-levels as these are the final stage to getting accepted. I thought I had no chance of getting in after the interview so don't give up until you know!